SJWMS Work Experience Information Evening 26 March 2014 Mrs Milliner Work Experience Co-ordinator Careers Co-ordinator [email protected] Work Experience Week: 20 to 24 October 2014 Work Experience Week is administered for us by Medway Education Business partnership Why is work experience important?      To gain real experience in a working environment. To find out what qualities employers are looking for. To relate school work to the world of work. To develop employability skills. To provide positive evidence to future interviewers: employers, college, university, apprenticeships, etc. ‘Own’ Placements Students may choose to find their own placement. In this case they need to complete a form with the following information and bring it to Mrs Milliner, before receiving a PIN for Webview:  Name and address of company  Name of person with whom they confirmed - IMPORTANT  Telephone number of that person  Be VERY aware of FIRM deadlines for own placements:  Outside Kent 19 May 2014  In Kent 7 July 2014  We do not recommend working with close relatives, but…. BAE No host – no hope! Host must be someone that the student will be working with Extra process for applying If you approach an organisation already on MEBP’s books…  Let me know and I may be able to do something about it! Placements organised by MEBP        Students will receive a PIN card on 7 July. From 7 July they will select four opportunities on Webview. Placements will generally be allocated on a first come first served basis The school co-ordinator will make final selections in mid September. MEBP will confirm names to employers. Students call host employers to arrange a pre-placement interview, or to introduce themselves. Each receives a log book, which they complete before, during and after the placement. Support from school  Specific tutorials for work experience and these will be delivered during tutorials in term 6 and term 1:        Letter writing Health & safety in the workplace Rights & responsibilities Workplace etiquette Stereotypes & discrimination School staff will contact students & employers during WEX week to the extent possible. Follow up after WEX week in tutorials Parents / carers can help Organising the placement:  Own placements: encourage students to do as much as possible in organising their own placement – writing letters, phone calls, getting the form to me before the deadline  MEBP placements: check the Job Description and Risk Assessment – and in particular that the student can physically get to the placement for the start time! Parents / carers can help even more…     Look through the Medway Log Book and help complete the pre-placement section. Help your child to recognise the goodwill of employers offering the placement. Help us to explain that while thinking about a career is important, students needn’t start their career in year 10 and work is experience is an experience of work, not just the first step on the ladder. Advise the school of any health or other matters which may affect your son whilst on the placement. Before WEX week  Just before WEX week there will be an assembly on the following: First impressions  Coping with boring tasks  Making the most of the experience i.e. the skills learned  Being an ambassador for the school  Thank you parents / carers for helping us reinforce these points by talking about your own experience of work. During the placement   Encourage your child to have a positive approach to the placement even if it is not quite what he expected. The skills are the important thing. Offer extra support and TLC during the placement period; it’s hard and different, and often more challenging than being at school. Monitoring and reviewing the placement     Work supervisors will sign off the daily log. Parents / carers complete feedback page when the week is finished. Students to complete the final log book section and complete the report if they intend to go for the Excellence Award. Students will evaluate their placements on the Webview site. After the placement  Parents /carers to encourage the student to: write a ‘thank you’ letter  complete the WEX log book and hand it to Mrs M  complete the report if they are going for the Excellence Award   The school will provide debrief tutorials that allow students to reflect on skills learned. Excellence Award    Completion of the WEX log book and an additional report Encourages the student to write reflectively about their placement An achievement to write on a CV The value of WEX       Work experience is every student’s first taste of the real world of work. Teachers report that most young people are changed by the experience. Many will have a much better idea of what they need to do to progress their career. Many recommit to school work as a consequence. Many realise that they will be joining the real world of work in the not-too-distant future. So, it’s important that they are prepared, work hard and enjoy their first taste of the world of work. SJWMS Work Experience Information Evening 26 March 2014